A July 4 warning; Moral relativism could lead to disaster

On July 4, 2012, my daughter was killed as she waited to watch the fireworks display at Adado Riverfront Park, Lansing, Michigan. She was with her fiancé and his then 6-year-old daughter anticipating a night of beauty and excitement. There were hundreds of police in the park that night. Citizens were assured that it would be a safe community experience.

A senseless act by an unknown assailant killed my daughter and instantly changed the lives of those who knew and loved her. Someone knows that he/she committed the act. That person may not know that a person died in the process.

My daughter was killed by a stray bullet from a gun that was fired into the air. No one in the park heard the shot. The bullet came straight down and hit her in the top of her head and lodged in the base of her brain. The doctors were shocked when the bullet appeared on the CT scan. The police believe it was fired from a distance outside the park. Was someone celebrating the right to bear arms? Was the shot fired in the commission of a crime? Were others there to witness the person shooting a powerful and deadly weapon into the air? Why didn’t someone say, “STOP!”

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These are questions that may never be answered. My daughter’s homicide is still an open case. Anyone with information can report it to the Lansing Police Department.

If one googles “death by a stray bullet,” you will see that there are hundreds of cases of injury and death caused by the careless discharge of weapons. Innocent people, including children, are injured or killed every year. Many of these incidents occur on or around the 4th of July and New Year’s Eve as revelers practice this dangerous method of celebrating freedom and new beginnings.

If you have participated or stood by and watched someone in the performance of this dangerous activity, please stop this act before another person dies a tragic death. Tell the story of my daughter and how the world was deprived of a gifted scientist who may have saved lives of others via her career in medical research.

Today I have only memories of my beautiful daughter. I will never be able to enjoy the holiday again. I cringe as I hear fireworks going off as they could easily mask the sound of gunfire. Bullets fired into the air WILL come down. People WILL die.

Pamela Leidlein,

Macomb Township

Moral relativism could lead to disaster

I have written several times regarding America’s swing into moral relativism as a bad thing. Its philosophy has no moral standards. “There are no absolutes. There is no fixed, unified transcendent truth.

I was wrong. I now believe that moral relativism is the only key to happiness and freedom. Here are some examples.

I could live the single life and still enjoy the fruits of marriage without the usual responsibility. I could live off the governmental welfare system by working it to my advantage and enjoy more leisure. If a well-placed lie would work to my advantage, not a problem. Whatever it takes. I am responsible to me only. My inclination to spirituality would be based upon my time and convenience only.

As I desire freedom from violence, I would promote tranquility by urging the government to confiscate all firearms in America. Additionally this should be expanded to confiscate all spears, sabers, javelins, lances, bows and arrows, knives, bricks, baseball bats, sticks and stones. That would eliminate all violence. Peace would reign throughout.

My whole purpose in life would be wrapped in the motto, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die”. Live for the moment only because after death there is only oblivion. With that in mind go for the gusto. So you can’t tell me what to eat, drink, think, do, say, or not say. I have my rights as I am my sole judge. Anyway, no more rules, regulations, constraints, or problems.

In the event that you may have misunderstood this article, it is a satire, I have purposely misrepresented the premise that I have promoted. In short, I believe that moral relativism is a curse upon society today, and I tried satirically to expose the error. If this philosophy prevails America is headed for disaster.